As the clock runs down towards tonight’s finale, Big Brother surprised all the housemates last night with a brutal shock double elimination.
When the housemates received some letters from their loved ones at home, Edward Doak was shocked to find that his was written by none other than Big Brother – announcing he would be packing his bags alongside Conor Maysey, who was voted out.
Speaking with Woman’s Day shortly after their shock elimination, Edward agrees it was a brutal way to find out he was going home to South Australia, but he’s happy he’s now reunited with his family.
“It was definitely a surprise… you’ve just got to be ready for anything with Big Brother,” 30-year-old Sales Manager, Edward, shares.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it past the first week, so to make it to the last week was amazing – and something I’m very grateful for.”
Initially recognised as one of the quieter members of the Big Brother house, Edward soon became more outspoken when it came to issues such as Colin and Holly’s displays of affection and Vinnie’s authenticity.
Edward’s happy to be reunited with his twin sister, Pru. (Image: Instagram)
Edward says that he doesn’t regret any moments from his time in the “pressure cooker” that is Big Brother and reveals he’s left the show with 12 new friends that he loves dearly.
“I’d hang out with every single one of them, they’re all great people,” Edward tells. “It’s a bit of a catch 22, like we’re a big family in there looking after each other, but you also need to evict people which was always the worst.”
When asked who he thinks will win the competition, Edward believes Bruce, Coco, Emily, Colin and Allana all deserve the chance to claim the prize money.
“I’d love to see Bruce win as my closest mate in the house, but I’d equally love just as much for any of the other four to win,” Edward says.
“If I had to put my heart onto a winner, it’d probably be Bruce.”
Now out of the house, Edward shares that he’s excited to be reunited with his twin sister Pru ahead of tonight’s finale – and also reveals he’d be interested on returning to reality TV.
“I don’t think Love Island’s my jam because I’ve got a dad bod that probably wouldn’t look too good with a pair of speedos on… I think everyone already saw enough of me and my knickers on Big Brother, so that’s probably a no-go,” he laughs.
“I loved my time on the show so we’ll see what happens. Never say never!”
Conor is happy he’s raised awareness for Tourette’s while on the show. (Image: Instagram)
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
As a proud disability advocate and educator, 31-year-old Queenslander Conor came into the Big Brother house to tear down stigmas about living with Tourette’s syndrome – a mission he feels he accomplished.
“I’d spoken with Big Brother in the diary room a few times about how much it would suck to get right to the end of the marathon and trip just before crossing the finish line,” he tells.
“I was definitely disappointed to begin with, but the second I got out of the house and saw my mum on stage sharing how much my advocacy work has already started helping people with Tourette’s, I realised I didn’t need to make it to the end.”
“I got what I needed from Big Brother, which was getting my message out there.”
During his time on the show, Conor revealed his tics had become less prevalent due to his fellow housemates making him feel safe and allowed him to flourish as the house’s defacto chef.
“Tourette’s often has this depiction of being 24/7 swearing and yelling, but it’s a spectrum that comes down to situational moments,” he tells.
“There’s moments when it can be really bad when you’re stressed, and then moments where it fades into the background when you’re feeling love and acceptance.”
His tics became less prevalent while in the Big Brother house. (Image: Channel Ten)
Now he’s back in the real world, Conor reveals he’s excited to hang out with some of the housemates he clicked with during their time on the show.
“I’ve got three that I’m most excited to spend more time with; Abiola who’s a wonderful woman and we got along like a house on fire, and Vinnie, who I had some amazing times with just playing off each other,” Conor says.
“And lastly Edward, I think I misjudged him at the start – he made me realise you can’t judge a book by it’s cover and that some books are a slow burn.”
As for who he thinks will win, Conor believes Emily, Coco or Colin could walk away victorious.
And while he’s keen to get back to his advocacy work, Conor also shares that there’s another reality TV show he’d love to have a crack at.
“If The Amazing Race want to give me a call and get me on there, I’m down,” he laughs, noting he’d bring along Edward for the trek.
“He’s got the smarts and a cool head, I felt like he was always a great sounding board.”
The Big Brother finale airs Monday, tonight at 7.30pm AEDT on 10.
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Harry Mulholland
